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How does CIFAS protect you?
CIFAS goes to great lengths to ensure that innocent victims of fraud are protected. Provided that their current address is known and the letter used will not alert the fraudster, in all impersonation cases, CIFAS Members are obliged to send a mandatory letter to the innocent victim advising of the CIFAS warning, and how it will prevent further impersonation activity.
A CIFAS warning against an innocent victim warns other CIFAS Members to carry out further checks which may include seeking confirmation of identity to confirm they are not dealing with the fraudster. While this may cause some inconvenience for the victim, it ensures that they do not find themselves being chased for money they do not owe.
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What are your Rights (Subject Access Requests)?
You have a right to request a copy of any information held about you under the Data Protection Act 1998.
For a fee from £2 you can obtain a copy of your credit file (which gives details such as your name, address, current credit commitments, payment records, etc) from the credit reference agencies. If you want to see your credit file then you should write to the credit reference agencies Experian Ltd (Nottingham), Equifax Ltd and Callcredit Ltd at the addresses listed above, enclosing the relevant fee. If you believe any of the data is incorrect, the details you receive from the agencies will explain how you can set about having it corrected. You may also be able to add a note to your record, which could help you. If there is a CIFAS Protective Registration or a Victim of Impersonation marker against your name to protect you, you will be able to see this on your credit file.
For a fee of £10 you are entitled to request a copy of any information held about you by any organisation on computer or in some manual files. This is known as a Subject Access Request. If you wish to request a copy of any data held about you by CIFAS, please follow the procedure as explained on the Subject Access Request form and send your completed form to the address below.
The Compliance Officer
CIFAS
6th Floor, Lynton House
7-12 Tavistock Square,
London WC1H 9LT
Our response will include only CIFAS data and not public information, payment history data or other fraud information.
If you want to know what other fraud information is held against your name, you should write to the organisation that processed your application or insurance claim to enquire which fraud prevention databases they consulted. They are obliged to provide you with full details including the addresses to write to. The responses from those organisations will not include any CIFAS data.
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How do I complain about a CIFAS warning?
In the first instance you should write to the CIFAS Member who dealt with your application or facility. CIFAS Members operate their own internal complaints procedures and can either send you details of the procedure or advise you what to do.
If you and the CIFAS Member are unable to reach an agreement on your complaint, you should request a letter from the CIFAS Member confirming that the complaints procedure has been completed or exhausted. Sometimes this is known as a "Final Response Letter". If you then decide you want to take your complaint further you may ask CIFAS to investigate your complaint. (CIFAS cannot become involved in a complaint until the 'Final Response Letter' has been issued.) CIFAS will contact the CIFAS Member and review the details of your complaint. CIFAS does not have the power to recommend financial awards, but CIFAS will confirm whether the CIFAS Member adhered to the correct procedures. For full details of the CIFAS complaints procedure please either click here to view the complaints page or write to CIFAS and request a copy of the complaints procedure at the above address.
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